HowTo Deliver A Presentation

Public speaking may be one of the hardest things that you will have to do as a future PR practitioner, so if you have a presentation to deliver for next month, week or even tomorrow, you have come to the right place. We will demonstrate a step by step studyPR guide on how to deliver an engaging, creative and worth of a ‘first’ presentation.

1. Before you get all excited, try and visualise yourself as Steve Jobs or even as one of your lecturers. Have you always wondered how composed, calm and efficient they are in delivering ttheir key information/message to their audience? This is because they have a substantial amount of experience at public speaking, but you do not. Therefore, make sure you watch as many public speakers as possible online. Have a look at Steve Jobs in 1980 delivering a brilliant presentation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lvMgMrNDlg . Make sure you spend hours observing them, reading their movement, eye contact, analyse their behaviour and think about your own behaviour and what works and what does not work.

2. The next step should be gathering all your information on a piece of paper, writing your speech and memorising it. You do not want to hold a piece of paper as you are presenting, as your nerves might show to your audience. Hey, everyone gets nervous and shaky hands, you are not the first and certainly not the last. So, memorise your speech and write down bullet-points on a small piece of paper, to help you remember the crucial points of your presentation.

3. Practice, practice and practice some more. The reason we here at studyPR practice so much is because, the more we practice, the more we get used to presenting. You will notice that with practice comes confidence and with confidence comes an excellent presentation. It will get easier every time you practice and it will give you an opportunity to embrace your role as an ‘expert’.

4. Talk TO your audience and not AT them!

Remember, it is not about you. Think about your audience and focus that energy towards what their common task is. Figure out what they would like to see and hear. Do not feel self-conscious! Organise an activity or a group work one minute session, so as to engage with them. It is not good to just present and read a powerpoint. Remember, powerpoint reading leads to boredom and boredom leads to stress levels because everyone is quiet. The more ‘filler’ you create in the class, the more you feel like it is a conversation rather than a presentation.

5. Make sure you dress smartly and appropriately

6. Smile! Shoulders straight and face forward! Smiling puts people at ease and makes them more comfortable with you presenting. The logic behind it is that, if they feel comfortable, you will feel comfortable aswell. Shoulders and head straight, so that your voice does not diminish in its volume and that you appear confident and energetic.

7. Greet all presentations with “Hello” , “My name is …” , “Today, I will be talking about …”, and always end with “Thank you for listening to me … ” , “I am open to any questions … ” , “Thank you …”

8. Use silence to emphasise points and show your audience that you are a confident speaker. Do not rush, run or reverse! If you forgot something, do not say “Ummm…” . Leave time for pause and return to your idea.

9. Make eye contact with your audience and make sure you target all “eyes in the room”.

10. Do not forget, the average person only holds a ‘three minute attention spam’, so anything you would say after that, will be immediately ignored and forgotten. Stay within your time limit, look at your wristwatch and keep track. After three minutes, engage with the audience. Ask a question, tell a joke (in moderation) or build variety into your talk.

Kent University best describes ‘how to do a presentation’ within this image.